Grammar Lessons And Strategies That Strengthen Students Writing

Engaging, explicit lessons using mini-excerpts from books and students’ writing show you how to teach grammar strategically. Zero in on the common grammar glitches, and model for students how to use nouns, verbs, and adjectives effectively, catch mismatched pronoun references; make prose lively with clauses and phrases, use the active voice, and more. From learning the parts of speech to the skill of paragraphing, this book covers it, and gives you what you need to teach grammar in the context of reading and writing. For use with Grades 4-8.

If you want to start an argument in a teachers' lounge, bring up the topic of how best to teach grammar. There is a wide spectrum of opinion. Traditionalists claim that we must explicitly teach grammar. Students drill the basics and diagram sentences. Sometimes their study and drills take the place of writing, but these teachers claim that good writing demands good grammar. At the opposite end of the spectrum are teachers who claim that the best way to learn grammar is to write, thereby being forced to use grammar in writing and editing. They reason that students will learn grammar in the context of actually using it, without all the drills and worksheets. They trust the writing process to instill an appreciation for grammar, instead of actually teaching it. Teachers on the write-to-learn-grammar side claim that students who are only taught grammar rules might pass tests, but since they didn't learn in the context of writing, they typically don't apply the rules when they write. Grammar traditionalists say students in writing classes never learn grammar at all, because it is not explicitly taught. In Tools, Not Rules, authors Tommy Thomason and Geoff Ward take the middle-ground position that grammar should be taught as part of the writing process. Tommy Thomason is a veteran journalist and university journalism professor at TCU. Geoff Ward is a well-known Australian professor and associate dean from James Cook University in Townsville. Both have written several books and work extensively with American teachers. Publisher's website: http: //www.eloquentbooks.com/ ToolsNotRules-TeachingGrammarInTheWritingClassroom.html

In this book, the author looks at what's wrong with the way grammar has been taught traditionally, and outlines current theories, research, and principles underlying grammar instruction for writing, advocating that grammar instruction be incorporated throughout the writing process, not broken out into isolated units. She offers teaching ideas and lesson plans for primary and secondary students, and gathers practicing teachers to describe their methods for responding to student errors, helping English language learners, and supporting code switching among speakers of African American English. Exercises for students and examples of student work at all levels are included.

This thorough yet brief book surveys the issues raised by teaching grammar in the context of writing and gives readers tools to evaluate the grammar of student writing. Teaching Grammar promotes the idea that grammar is best taught in the context of student writing. In a jargon-free manner, Hagemann shows pre-service teachers how to teach grammar and evaluate student writing and how sociolinguistic and rhetorical theories can inform grammar pedagogy. In an era where language minority students are present in our classrooms, Hagemann demonstrates how they will benefit from special teaching strategies. For those beginning a career teaching English or language arts at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Written as a springboard to teaching grammar, this book is designed to help teachers of grades 4–8 teach students to use the sixteen essential grammatical elements (seven parts of speech, six phrases, and three clauses) in their writing. Exercises, strategies, and examples provide a guide for the teacher about how students can learn, expand, and transfer the grammar skills acquired to their own writing. The book is organized so that teachers can either pick and choose lessons that are tailored to meet their students' specific needs, or they can teach the material in a clear and effective scope and sequence from beginning to end.. Teachers Rave about Keith Polette’s New Way to Teach Writing! “I like the writing exercises that are incorporated right from the start and the interesting approach to getting students to develop their understanding in their own words. I also would recommend the book to other teachers because it has universal appeal for any teacher trying to improve their own understanding of grammar and writing or who is looking for another good resource for their students.” -Lona Garrison, Gwinnett County Public Schools, GA “I think this book is done very well. Teachers could use this book as a reference tool in the classroom.” -Deedra Murray, Edyth J. Hayes Middle School, KY Take a look inside: Focuses on one grammatical element at a time to assist teachers in building on students' prior knowledge. Addresses such topics as sentence building, combining, and imitation, writer's voice, word play, poetry, editing, and guided or process writing.

Instantly stimulate meaningful discussions, reinforce story elements, and get kids really talking and thinking about what they've read.

Teaching grammar can be overwhelming and is often an overlooked part of effective instruction, especially for young learners. The Early Elementary Grammar Toolkit to the rescue! This comprehensive guide makes grammar instruction in the K–2 classroom fun and meaningful. You will learn how to: Teach grammar in a practical and applicable way by presenting each grammar rule as a useful writing tool for students. Use mentor texts—excerpts from great literature—to help students understand grammar in action. Promote metacognition along the way so that students become responsible for their own learning. Implement innovative instructional strategies and tools aligned with national and state standards. Throughout the book, you’ll find step-by-step recommendations for teaching grammatical concepts to young learners, including the use of punctuation, capitalization, parts of speech, and more. With standards-based resources and activities for grades K–2, the book includes tips addressing teaching for each of these grades, classroom snapshots that show you the tools in action, flowcharts, infographics, and specific instructional recommendations to engage students.

The Common Core’s language standards can seem overwhelming—students need to learn specific, complex grammar rules at each grade level. The Common Core Grammar Toolkit to the rescue! This comprehensive guide makes grammar instruction fun and meaningful. You will learn how to... Teach the Common Core’s language standards for grades 3–5 by presenting each grammar rule as a useful writing tool. Use mentor texts—excerpts from great literature—to help students understand grammar in action. Promote metacognition along the way, so that students become responsible for their own learning. Throughout the book, you'll find step-by-step recommendations for teaching each of the grammar tools, plus classroom snapshots that show you the tools in action, and handy templates that you can use in the classroom. Bonus! The book includes a free annotated bibliography, which is offered as a Supplemental Download on our website. The bibliography lists high-quality young adult literature and gives examples of key grammatical concepts found in each work. It also provides the Common Core Language Standard associated with those concepts!